That lie is this: "At bottom, we are basically pretty good people. We make mistakes, but no one is perfect. We are only human, after all." This lie blinds us to the righteousness which God requires, leaving us incapable of accepting the gospel. We cannot accept the fact that we are truly dead in trespasses and sins.
But the law does not say that the one who tries his best with the most zeal will live. Nor does it say that the one who knows what to do will live. Rather, "The man which doeth those things shall live by them" (Rom. 10:5). And, as Paul has already shown, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). But when we are caught in our sins, rather than submitting to God's righteousness, we blame God for being too strict. "I tried my best. Of course, I am not perfect, but who is?"
Paul rebukes this way of thinking in verses 6-8. The quotation comes from Deuteronomy 30. In Moses' final speech to Israel, he is warning of the time when Israel will break the covenant and be driven from the land and alienated from God (Deut. 29). Then God makes them a promise (Deut. 30:1-9). He will restore them to favor and to the land, circumcise their hearts, and renew His covenant. But Israel must get one thing straight. The reason that they broke the law was not because God made it too hard for them or too complex. They were not required to climb into heaven or go across the ocean (Deut. 30: 11-13). God gave them only ten commandments. They were not obscure philosophical treatises, nor were they so complex that it took professionally trained lawyers to interpret it. They were simple and basic. Children could understand them; in fact, Israel was required to teach them to the children (Deut. 6). Israel's failure was not that God made His requirements too hard; it was that their hearts were so hardened by their own pride that they made themselves incapable of keeping them. In Adam, we became so corrupt that we are completely incapable of all good and prone always to all evil. In fact, we are condemned already before we are even born. But the fault is not in the complexity and difficulty of the law. It is in our own stubborn hearts. This is why Moses said that our hearts need to be circumcised (Deut. 30:6).
This is the reason that Israel rejected Christ. They still thought that they had some strength. The problem, as they saw it, was that there were publicans and sinners around and that the Romans were cruel. Therefore, the only Savior that they would accept would be one that would agree with their assessment. "Take care of the sinners; drive out the Romans; leave us alone-we're just fine. We will join your army and show these rotten sinners how to be good Jews. What we need is discipline and order. With hard work and steadfast resolve we can solve these problems together."
But this is contrary to faith. It is ignorance of God's righteousness and a path that leads to hell. There is no amount of resolve and no sufficient sacrifice for sin on this earth. The law says that the one who does the law shall live. And we have all sinned. If there is to be salvation for us, we must be clothed with a righteousness that we do not have. This was why Christ came into the world. He came, not to show us how to be righteous, but to be righteous in our place. He came, not to show us how to overcome sin and death, but to overcome sin and death in our place. He came, not to show us the proper way to sacrifice, but to lay down His life for His sheep.
Therefore, the righteousness of faith does not say that we must climb into heaven and break down the doors. Rather, Christ came down from heaven and became flesh. We do not seek God out; He seeks us out. It is not we who climb Jacob's ladder. All human effort, wisdom, and resolve will end in death and misery. If man is to be saved, it is God that must do it. Only God circumcises the heart of sinful man and opens his lips to sing His praises.
The righteousness which is by faith always points to the cross. When Jesus was on the cross, he cried out, "It is finished." Every requirement of God was fulfilled and the sacrifice was accepted. There is now no more sacrifice for sin (Heb. 10:12-14). There is nothing that we can add to the perfect work of Christ without denying our Savior. This is why Jesus said that only the poor in spirit can inherit the kingdom of God. As long as we continue to bring our riches-however great or small-into the presence of God, we continue to find the way blocked forever. Only Jesus is the Way.
Paul goes on in verse 9 to show the true meaning of faith as opposed to human ability. He sums up the whole of the gospel with two concepts: confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead.
Believe In Your Heart
Faith is not mere intellectual assent. The seat of faith is the heart. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (v. 10). In the Bible, the heart is the center and source of all human activity. It includes everything that makes us humans: our reason, our emotions and our will-the inner man. Faith is not a choice that we make apart from our values and our reason, nor is it empty emotion without content. Faith includes the whole man. It is certain knowledge and hearty trust. Paul illustrates the meaning of faith by an appeal to scripture: "For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed" (Romans 10:11).
The passage that he is referring to is found in Isaiah 28:16. Isaiah is pronouncing woe on Israel. When Israel was in trouble, they were so blinded by their pride that they refused to trust in the Lord as their only Savior. Instead, they made alliances with foreign nations. They sacrificed to Baal and figured that there was still some good in them that God would accept. Isaiah's language is harsh. He told them that their tables were full of vomit and excrement and there was not one spot that was clean (28:8); they had made a covenant with death, making lies their refuge (28:15). Therefore God will lay a sure foundation in Zion (28:16). This would be the cornerstone and support for the whole structure, as well as a solid place for them to stand on. The one who believes will no longer be hasty to put his trust in armies, sacrifices, goodness, or human ability, but instead shall have peace, security, and rest.
But this stone became a stumbling block to Israel. Their stubborn pride would not allow them to rest, but continually stirred them up to greater and greater activity. They continued to fill their tables with filth and pretended that God was appeased.
When God raised Jesus from the dead, He testified that the work was finished, the sacrifice has been accepted, and the power of sin and death had been broken. The covenant with death had been disannulled and the agreement that we made with hell was broken (Isa. 28:18).
But apart from the circumcision of the heart, man remains blind. He still says in his heart "Who will ascend into heaven?" To him, the resurrection is a curiosity or a myth. He continues to trust in his ability, his opinions, and his will; he daily reinforces his covenant with death.
This man-made covenant has been broken by the gospel. To believe in your heart is to cast off all hope in your own strength and fall before the mercy seat of God. "I have nothing good in me. Christ alone is my perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness. He alone has broken the bonds of death." True faith, properly understood, can never be the ground of our salvation, for even our faith is weak, trembling, and faulty. We are not acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of our faith, but only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is our righteousness before God. Faith is the instrument of our salvation; never the ground. The cornerstone of Zion, the sure foundation, is Jesus Christ, not faith.
This is the only rest for the weary soul (Isa. 28:12), which Israel did not hear.
Confess with Your Mouth
The content of our confession is the Lord Jesus, or, that Jesus is Lord. To confess means to acknowledge the truth of a proposition. In the Old Testament, the name of the Covenant God of Israel-almighty, eternal, independent, unchanging, and the only Savior-was four letters in Hebrew, roughly translated as "Jehovah." Centuries before Christ, the Hebrews substituted the word "Lord" every time they read "Jehovah," not wanting to violate the third commandment. This custom was followed by the Greeks and continues to our day. In many English Bibles, the word "Jehovah" in the Old Testament is translated by "LORD" in all capital letters.
In verse 13 of our text, Paul illustrates what he means by confession with a quote from Joel 2. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." In the Hebrew, this word translated "Lord" is "Jehovah."
In the time of the prophet Joel, there was a great plague of locusts that devoured the land. Joel, under inspiration, took this opportunity to call Israel to repentance. God said that because of Israel's unfaithfulness there would be great armies invading the land like a great plague of locusts (1:6). Very soon, this prophecy took a far more expanded look at the judgment of God. The Day of the Lord is coming (2:1-2) which will be far more terrifying than even the advancement of invincible hostile armies.
There is something far greater to fear than loss of earthly treasure. The world stands under the wrath and curse of God and judgment waits, but "whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Joel 2:32). Paul is saying, in effect, "If you confess that Jesus is Lord, calling upon Him, you will be saved from the wrath to come, just like Joel said, ‘Whosoever calls upon the name of Jehovah will be saved.'"
The reason that men reject the gospel is the same reason that the Jews of Paul's day rejected it. They say, "Judgment can't possibly apply to us. We have done our best; we are basically pretty good people." But when the Day of Judgment comes, zeal and good intentions will never save us; they are the covenant with death. There is only one Savior: the one who bled, died, and rose again in our place: The LORD Jesus. He is Jehovah, our God, the only Savior of men (Isa. 43:11). As Peter said to the Jews, "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12).
Conclusion
Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). If we believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, then we will cry out to Him for deliverance, confessing Him as Jehovah God, able to save us from our sins. If we do not believe, we stumble at that stone, still trusting in our filthy rags and our tables of vomit. Men and women by the millions still seek to ascend into heaven or plumb the depths of the sea for salvation. They whip themselves in the monasteries, climb the steps of the cathedral on their knees, fly planes into buildings, or blow themselves up seeking to gain God's favor by their zeal.
How many professing Christians today still look for their salvation in themselves instead of in the cross of Jesus? "If only I did this or that...then God would see how sincere I am." We still hear today, "I've really tried to be a good person and I'm sure that God is pleased with me." The gospel is rejected, for men have made a covenant with death.
Is it because it is too hard that men do not come to Christ? Is it because it is not clear enough? No. It is because of the pride of men. We cannot bear the thought that disaster is proclaimed upon us and there is nothing that we can do except call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. In a recent movie, one of the characters said, "On the brink of disaster, men will change." No, they won't. They will return to their vomit (Prov. 26:11). Only God can circumcise the heart. Only Jesus can save. He came down from heaven. He paid the penalty in our place. He broke the curse. There is nothing left for anyone to do. Believe and confess.
This is the doctrine that broke the back of tyranny in the sixteenth century. If Jesus finished the work, then away with the priests! (Heb. 10:11-14) There is no more sacrifice for sin, no penance, no purgatory, no papal bridge between God and man, for Jesus paid it all. The power of the interdict was broken because Christ rose from the dead. "Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to thy cross I cling." As Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).
